Kaleetan held my interest for three separate climbs, all of which were on routes not listed in books, most of which started on the East Face. The rock is not the best, but the peak itself is sharp and interesting. A fun mountain ignored by the masses, which is exactly what I like.

I looked at the summit from many angles over several decades. It just doesn't look like a scramble. When I finally headed up there it looks bad all along the ridge. In fact it is just a scramble. Fun trip, I'll have to return.

Thought I was getting into the big time doing this scramble, learned later it can get much harder and much more crazy. Still remember being off route, coming over a rocky lip below the summit gulley, running into a mountaineers group who told me "that's not the way up", huh? I just came up it? Trip pictures and map at http://www.willhiteweb.com/snoqualmie_pass/kaleetan_peak/denny_creek_179.htm

Following great route description on Summit Post helped us where others failed today. We met two guys following the instructions from Peggy Somthing or Other's 75 Scrambles book who were turned back on the Melakwa Pass route. They were cursing her name all the way down the trail!

After being thwarted by the 50 feet of visibility due to clouds the previous weekend, my wife and I headed back to settle the score. Previously, we weren't able to find the small climbers' path from the toilets up to Pt 5700 because of poor visibility. This time, we found it in no time and headed up. The terrain leading up to Pt 5700 and then again when dropping down into the West basin was sketchy at times, since this climb followed on the heels of a pretty decent rain week in the PNW. Mud and wet roots on a 45 - 50 degree slope can be difficult if not draining to negotiate. From the bottom of the basin back up the ~600 feet to the summit block was very straightforward. The final class 3 gully was a refreshing and simple scramble. Views were amazing! This was a long day, but a very rewarding one!

turns out the boot path starts just before the second privy sign on the west side of Melakwa Lake. Oh and the toilet is nearly full- looks like I'll be digging a new hole for the privy next time I'm up there in Sept.

I was stunned by the beauty of Chair Peak reflecting in Melakwa Lake. To my surprise, it seems the haystack scramble on Mount Si is more challenging than the standard route of Kaleetan. The mountaineers have left a summit register for people to sign up there. My feet hurt.

Hiked to base of Mt. Roosevelt prior night, camped, climbed Roosevelt by 9am. We decided that the day wasn't nearly over, and traversed across to Kaleetan over what I would consider mostly high 4th class terrain. Made a poor route choice for the final hundred feet or so to the summit, ended up on low 5th class rock without protection and a fair amount of exposure.

Spent the night at Lake Melakwa the night before. Had thunder storms and rain during the night but perfect weather for the climb. Some VERY large thunder heads could be seen east of Mt Rainier to the south. Some strange weather during those days.